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  • #2271383

    Competitive employee – would value any advice!

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    by guitarist_7 ·

    I’m responsible for a small IT team of 3 (including myself) and am having difficulty with one of the members of the team. I try to discuss as many aspects with the team as possible, but lately one individual is becoming increasingly competitive/argumentative with me about anything I feel we should discuss as a group. I welcome the feedback and genuinely want to hear different points of view, but ultimately it falls to me to make the decision. e.g. we had a discussion which in my view descended into an argument about the corporate standard for e-mail accounts – whereas I’d taken onboard some of his suggestions but not all he constantly believed all of his methods were correct and would not take onboard the view of others at all (the other 2 of us were in agreement). A couple of days ago the 3rd team member approached me and said he thought this individuals attitude was “pathetic” as he seemed to be arguing just to win an argument rather than discussing or offering a solution. Apparently after I’d left the office he’d spent an hour trying to prove a small point by searching through all of our stock for a telephone adapter (to try and prove I’d already bought one that I was intending to purchase).

    This guy is very competitive and I’m also aware he has been given tasks to do from higher ups (my boss) in the company which he takes on and has then had another member of the team complete but he has claimed credit for (I have proof of this happening on 3 separate occasions now). This concerns me as the view from the board of directors is that this individual is doing an excellent job, and so more work is delegated directly to him which he then asks me/others about – as his boss I feel obligated to help him with them but can’t say I’m happy about providing solutions which he then takes credit for. I can’t see a way of telling higher ups/HR without coming off as unprofessional or a poor manager. I’ve discussed all of this with him privately on two separate occasions now but his attitude is “That’s the way I am. You’ll have to deal with it.”

    Any thoughts? I’d like to see what you think, I really don’t know what to do for the best…

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    • #2597936

      Document

      by maecuff ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      all your conversations with this person. And when he says that “it’s the way he is and you have to deal with it”. I would suggest that you tell him that he does not have a firm grip on the nature of your relationship.

      It’s not a sign of weakness to bring it to your boss that you are having issues with this employee. Arm yourself with documentation. Lay it out without rancor, just present the facts. Depending on your policy, I’d tell your boss that you would like to begin some sort of disciplinary action.

      If you don’t do SOMETHING you’re going to lose the respect of your entire team. You’re the boss, you can’t allow one of your employees to bully you.

      I speak from experience, and I know how difficult this can be. While I know all people are not the same, it has been my experience that when you firmly deal with a bully, they show their true colors and they back down.

      Good luck!

    • #2597930

      not competitive, a snake.

      by locrian_lyric ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Document, document, and then document some more.

      This jerk WILL end up knocking you out of the box. If he’s allowed to continue, he WILL make you, and everyone who confronts him look like it is out of professional jealousy.

      If someone else does the work, document it, and what they did, how long they spent on it, and then (before the work is completed) send out a very nice congratulatory email, with higher ups CCed, thanking the employee who did the REAL work.

      That will send a message to ALL concerned without looking petty or vindictive.

      • #2596046

        People Management

        by kugank ·

        In reply to not competitive, a snake.

        It is a test of your management skills.Does the Senior Management have confidence in you ? If the specific individual happened to get the feeling that they give more importance to him than you , then that’s the root of the problem. My personal opinion is that he can only do this to you if he doesn’t respect you. If the Senior Management has confidence in you , it is a matter of documenting your one on ones with this individual and then informing the senior management after few one on ones that despite you telling him what is expected , he is adamant and this will have an adverse impact on the team.

        If nothing works because of politics, the best way is to reduce his responsibilities gradually and make him feel like a useless dumbo with only repetitive tasks to do which means he has to go to the senior management and then you can respond to the senior management with all the proofs.

        • #2626629

          Management Support

          by felipevenanciop ·

          In reply to People Management

          You need help from your management.
          If your new in the position or company, your management should support you with this situation.

          1)Some years ago. I was very competitive, I liked to show to my boss that I had knowledge and sometimes discussed with him, just to impress him, becuase I would like to be his number one. Maybe this the problem.

          2)Other situation. This guy want a promotion and don’t like you.

          Tks,
          Felipe

      • #2587387

        even better

        by little wheel ·

        In reply to not competitive, a snake.

        I have been in this manager’s boat as well. I would have sent the email out with a BCC to higher ups so thay could see him take the credit for work he hadn’t done. As the old saying goes, what goes around comes around. I have never claimed responsibility for anything someone else did. In fact, whenever my group receives kudos, I alsways defer to the team having made a great product.

    • #2597899

      Head on

      by jamesrl ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      This problem is not going away by itself.

      Its also not isolated to you and the employee – it affects your whole team. Not dealing with it will raise morale issues with the other team members.

      I hate to use the phrase in case it offends, but we have a term called the “come to jesus” meeting. You need to confront them, this employee needs to confess and acknowledge their “sins” and promise to work with you on improvement. You have to outline the consequences of an unsuccessful resolution – termination.

      But before you do this, you need to get buy in from your boss and perhaps HR. You need to discuss the problem with them, and outline your proposed course of action. You need their support and their buy in, in case the worst happens. The worst being this employee decides to deny everything and fight you at every turn. If that happens you have to terminate.

      I’ve been councelled to terminate employees before, and have managed to work through the issues and avoid termination. In other cases, the employee saw that they could not have their way and quit(they thought the grass was greener, but it wasn’t).

      There may be external factors – stress at home for example. There may be some issue that is really bigging this employee and this is there way to cope. Build a plan of action, get your boss to sign off, and have the one on one discussion.

      You should also talk to your boss about not goign around you when assigning work – that undercuts your authority.

      Good luck, this is not easy stuff.

      James

      • #2595822

        Task assignement

        by jdclyde ·

        In reply to Head on

        is there a paper trail for projects when they are assigned? Do you and your people have to justify and bill your time?

        How it the time being accounted for that is used by you and your workers when they are doing the task that HE was assigned, and is in turn turning around taking credit for?

        I would make a point of complementing your other worker for work well done on a project in front of the trouble maker AND your boss.

        This needs to be handled head on, and completely out in the open. Have your documentation prepared, and be able to back up anything you say.

        Do NOT let yourself get angry.

        Do NOT let yourself raise your voice.

        Do NOT let him interrupt you.

        Remind him when he does, that he is your employee, and will be written up if he doesn’t step back and sit down.

        In meetings, make it clear you are looking for input, but also make it clear that it is your decision and you will not argue with anyone about it. They can professionally present their best case, and then they shut up and it is over.

      • #2599629

        Respect and Boundaries

        by townsenda ·

        In reply to Head on

        Some of the Posts have good approaches. As many have stated – a one to one is needed. Be as hard as possible on this person. Boundaries and perimeters if not already inherent in Job Descriptions need to be reinforced.
        The BoD is also acting unprofessionally by not following reporting lines. Let this person know what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, if he oversteps take disciplinary steps. Let him also know that if he accepts work that comes directly from the BoD without your knowledge, that it is unauthorised work, and may certainly not be delegated. It will also only be completed after hours and that in future you will not accept him taking on this work without your approval. Be careful to follow through and carry out action against the bad egg if necessary or your team will lose faith in you as the leader.
        Let the BoD know that you are responsible for this persons work and that they should please let you know if they want your team to handle anything. How can you be responsible for your team if you do not know exactly what they are doing.
        I am afraid its the Nike approach.
        Best Wishes

      • #2626313

        Unfortunate alpha-dog issue

        by jnewsom ·

        In reply to Head on

        Great thread! I have also been in the same boat before and extend my sympathy. I run an IT shop for a small company that is the same size as your operation, 3 people. The suggestions I have seen here are all excellent so far. I had a guy like this a few years ago to deal with, and he eventually parted ways with us. I suggest a combination of things mentioned by others in this thread.

        Firstly, if you haven?t already, begin a formal, documented, progressive disciplinary process. Document each time you counsel this person, the nature of the conflict, and objective, measurable goals for improvement. This person?s unchecked behavior is hurting the morale of your department and undermining your own authority.

        Deal with the unearned taking of credit and the flow of assignments. Another person suggested an excellent move, which is to send out e-mail notifications of thanks to the real person who did the work as if you know nothing about the credit stealing. It thwarts the behavior, and you look completely innocent. The unorthodox flow of assignments from higher-ups needs to stop, and you have to have a talk with your bosses. It?s probably interfering with other jobs that really have a higher priority and that?s the tack to take. ?Because you put Joe on X, we couldn?t get Y done which you?ve agreed was very important. It?s important for me to know what my people are working on so I can make sure the important stuff gets done first.?

        Third, and hardest, is to directly and publicly confront the bad behavior. You may not have to do this very often, but it will need to be done. You?ll have to publicly slap him down when he?s out of line. I had this exact conversation one time and hard as it was, it helped. I said something to this effect:

        ?Here?s the deal. Once the decision has been made, you need to remember I?m your boss. If I tell you to do something you don?t agree with, you still have to do it. If I?m wrong, you get to tell me you told me so, but you still have to do what I ask.?

    • #2597776

      Deal With Upper Management and Employee

      by wayne m. ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      The first thing you need to do is to re-establish your authority. Upper management should not be bypassing you nor should your report be tasking his peers with work. This creates confusion on who is in charge, leading to some of the other issues.

      Go talk to whoever is tasking this individual outside of your chain of command. Politely request that either all work requests go through you or the staff member be transferred to the higher ups direct control.

      Inform the staff member of the agreement with upper management and request him to refer all work requests to you for assignment. Explicitly tell him to reply, “I must refer this request to my supervisor,” and then tell you of the request.

      Inform the staff member that he does not have the authority to task his peers. If he needs assistance to complete any task that you assign him, he is to request it from you.

      Make a regular practice of reporting your team’s accomplishments to upper management. It is your responsibility to ensure that credit is fairly and officially reported. Conflicting information should be enough of a key for higher ups to dig into the details.

      Bypassing the chain of command is one of the more destructive things that upper management can do. It creates confusion over who is responsible for what and what range of authority individuals may have. My feeling is that upper management is more responsible for this problem than the staff member (who took advantage of the situation), and the upper management must be reminded of their responsibilities to you as a supervisor.

    • #2596027

      Tasks must be well defined and identified

      by jmldspt ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      As you mentioned, he takes tasks from your boss and then it is another team member that completes it. This a major concern for every guy that works and needs to see his work recognized.
      My advice on this matter is to clearly identify and structure the global task in several work packages. In each work package you have the objectives/goals where you should include the members that contributed to it. For this matter, please include also some kind of work measure, like MM (man month) just to make it really clear for the guys (e.g., your boss) that are going to receive the completed task.
      The work done must be evaluated on a personal basis and he shouldn’t take credit for what he hasn’t done.
      Besides that, in respect to its competitive nature, you should be very careful because if you are the team leader, he might be wanting your place!! So, beware and keep your boss update (in a weekly basis) about the work that all team members (include you) have been performing.
      If there’s something that a boss values is loyalty and will be doing your job, that is, being a team leader!
      Good luck 🙂

    • #2596021

      You may also

      by gadgetgirl ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      want to look at the impact of him not being 100% on your team.

      While he’s off trying to find solutions for problems given to him on high, he’s not doing the work that YOU, as his manager, have specified to him.

      That has to have an impact on team performance. Management need to see any applicable stats on that. If they need him that badly – hey, that’s your way out. Offer to “permanently lend him” to the “others”, and get another (new) member of staff for your own team.

      As said many times above, document, document, document. It’s the only way to cover your own back if he goes into blatant denial mode.

      Best of luck. If you need any help from the UK legal side of this issue, peer mail me – – – – – after all, I live where you work, but work in Durham!

      GG

    • #2596001

      I’d agree with the advice given

      by glennhughes ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      It’s hard, I’ve had to sack one person and it’s not fun.

      1. Face it head on and professionally as it won’t go away on its own.
      2. Document everything.
      3. Follow any HR policy on performance management/discplinary to the letter. Tell the person you intend to follow this path.
      4. Involve your boss so he/she is aware and supports you.

      Good Luck.

    • #2595993

      Old age and treachery will always win over youth and skill

      by techexec2 ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      .
      One problem you have is that your boss is stepping over you. In a happy healthy team, this would not be a problem. I seriously doubt your boss is completely unaware of this situation. That is, he knows your troublesome employee is giving you trouble, and he knows he is making it worse by giving him assignments directly. Gasoline on the fire. He knows! Don’t forget that!

      If I were in your situation, I would go directly into my boss’ office and ask him to stop giving your troublesome employee assignments. He’ll either support you or not.

      Regardless, you’re the boss. Assert your authority. Don’t accept any nonsense. Be firm and calm. Don’t argue. Don’t just “deal with him”. Your little hotshot needs more work to do. A lot more work, with pressing deadlines that don’t leave time to argue. You have a hostile team. You don’t have the happy family you would like. You have to deal with it accordingly. Yeah. YOU have to change. It’s OK to be angry about it. It’s actually preferable that you are. Use your anger as fuel to help you take care of business. When you’re a manager, sometimes you have to re-earn the position. I think this is one of those times. If you can do that well, you’ll earn more respect from your superiors, and your employees as well.

      Good luck…manager!

      P.S. Frankly, I would nail that cocky little SOB to the friggin’ wall, in a professional way of course! Remember: Old age and treachery will always win over youth and skill. Be old. Be treacherous.

      • #2589884

        I am just like the kid with an attitude…HELP

        by iainwrig ·

        In reply to Old age and treachery will always win over youth and skill

        I am just like this kid arguing with his boss. I work in a department of 4 and make half as much as the guy above me who has been here for 3 years. I have been here for a year or so now. In the begenning I was really gungho about improving IT here but met alot of resistance from my boss. I have little to no respect for my bosses IT knowledge. After migrating our NT4 domain to 03′ and getting everything setup on a rack with proper cooling, all I get is him blaming issues on work I’ve done when it is really his incompetence to use a computer or especially a server. Ofcourse there ARE quirks I had to workout after the migration. If there is a problem I am told to go to him first, which in reality would make sense. However, when I do this I am given generally given suggestions I am positive will not work because they have little to no relevance to the root cause of the problem. I am really discouraged from improving Informatics here because if I do something I basically accept full responsibility for it and cannot expect any knowledgeable help from anyone in my department. The worst thing is, the higher up will call in with an issue and I will head to office to fix it. While troubleshooting, I will going through the motions… My boss will walk in and in front of the Dept Head say something like “so whats the problem” … “oh, have you tried this”. I try to remain calm and just respond “No, I have not” rather than “No, that won’t help, thanks anyways”. He then goes on to say in front of the Dept. head “Yeah, you really need to call me about these things before you try to fix them”. Ofcourse his suggestion did not resolve the issue, and I end up going back when the Dept. head is not there and continue what I was doing until it is fixed. Since then, I really just let him go over to any of the managers/dept heads offices to try to fix something, after spinning his wheels he will ask, and I will go fix it or tell him what I would have done and why. My job description entailed fixing printers, desktops, etc. basically an MCSE job starting at 12.80 an hour. At this point I am deploying a new server farm enabling SQL redundancy, migrating of db’s offsite, resolving all server issues, migrating a win2000 fileserver to 2003 on a different domain, and thinking up/deploying a DR strategy. I feel I am very unappreciated and because all of my work goes through my boss he gets all credit. There is no benefit to me doing well here because: if i do well, its not appreciated outside of my dept, I will not get a raise bec. my boss and I do not get along.. Just because he has a degree does not mean he is qualified to run this department!!! I HATE The attitude I have now and it is like engraved into my mind. I want to change and maybe I just need to find somewhere else to work. But will this repeat at my next job? As some of you may have recognized i grew up in a very Damaging enviornment, I do not blame my misconceptions on proper management on that, but it definately has had some effect on views on the world/work and how I expect to be treated I guess. It really comes down to issues with me and I recognize that. It seems like If i “sack up” and do everything I should get a raise. It just doesn’t make sense how the guy above me is paid 24$/hr and I have been training him for a year now on how to accomplish even the simpelest tasks. I run a IT Consulting buisness on the side (registered LLC) and I find it is still hard to get respect being 21 years old without a degree. However, freelance is nice, I put in my time, I don’t screw my clients, I do good work and get paid. If something goes wrong I don’t leave until its fixed. Its a simple process with great rewards, most of all getting respect when the job is done. The stress is horrible if I am on the spot but I have developed trust with a couple of clients who I know have faith in my skills and know I can clutch in the situation. Hopefully this is enough information to get some advice from you IT managers who would have fired me by now. Basically I do not like who I am right now, I want to have a better attitude, I just feel underpaid and mistreated….do I need to get a degree to get respect?

        Thanks-

        • #2589767

          Get used to it

          by paul.richardson1 ·

          In reply to I am just like the kid with an attitude…HELP

          Because the IT field is notorious for being staffed by socially inept, or just plain mean-spirited folks, who are nevertheless smart (at least with technology), it’s easy for someone who is just plain stupid (at least with technology) to rise to the top — or just slide in sideways (via a friend, or other connection) on top, especially when that stupid person has (most of the time, quite accidentally, via good upbringing, or family environment) a very mediocre, bland, and likeable ability to manage their image. They might be stupid with computers, but crafty and slick when it comes to making their self look good, or at least getting on the good side of those who can help them. This is just how it is in IT (for 90% of work environments).

          You sound like you have self-esteem issues. You don?t need a degree to gain self-confidence, and the confidence of others, but in a lot of companies, it will limit how high you can go (beyond middle management, toward upper management). Since you are not even a manger yet, it is not a real barrier for you now, and not likely to be one for a long time to come, if ever. Respect has everything to do with how you talk, carry yourself, dress (and of course, how attractive you are), etc. The easiest way to gain respect, however, is to earn it in how you project yourself toward others. Be calm and consistent. That?s easy. Work on projecting self-confidence and calmness, especially under fire of criticism or insult.

          There are plenty of incredibly stupid people with college degrees (some cheaters, some who just persevere by a thread, and some who get lots of help). There are even some people with graduate degrees who are incredibly stupid — usually, that?s a problem with the administrative staff of the University, who decide on the entrance requirements of their institution, and the quality of faculty, and thus instruction. If you are stupid (some IT folks can barely compose a coherent paragraph of text, though they excel in IT), then there are plenty of ?Universities? around, who have low standards of entrance, and for whose degrees, all you really need to do is a lot of stupid mindless work, and you never even need to really learn anything.

          Again, I wouldn?t recommend frustrating yourself with fighting the system and how the world works. Just accept it the way it is. You would be extremely lucky to find a high ranking manager who is more technically savvy than anyone below them. Making it to management is more often a matter of being more similar to the ultra-techno-illiterates who are at the very top of the chain, and less like the slave labour who have all the brains and do all the work.

        • #2589742

          Most of the people in IT tend to be decent people.

          by f4a6pilot ·

          In reply to Get used to it

          However, you seem to be unwilling to be the low man on the pecking order. If you aren’t willing to pay your dues, your manager will staff projects with less talented, but more socially apt people. You may be technically superior and self taught, a deadly combination that will get resistance from other personnel, including your boss.

          Remember, the tech end is only 30% of the IT pro’s job. 70% or more is dealing with other people, or training others, or being mentored…

          Your exposure to higher ups may be either positive or negative. Don’t be afraid to say “that won’t work”, but only if you have the right answer. Else, you might as well try any other suggestion. (That dang white button does help, cause you are doing Windows.)

          Until I was 30, I wouldn’t mentor anyone else. Now, I am willing to mentor others because after they leave, they have occasionally been my contacts for more lucrative contracts elsewhere. If you aren’t able to be a team player, you can not hope for your boss to be even a good reference, get another job that better fits your skills, needs and wants.

        • #2589731

          I don’t see it quite that black and white…

          by dsrobinson ·

          In reply to Get used to it

          but I get the point. Yes, there are people whose expertise is very narrow. That’s true in any field. And it’s not unusual for your boss to know less about technical things than you do, after all your boss’ job is no longer actually troubleshooting, it’s managing people. Some bosses hate giving up that technical piece, and fight to stay in it. He may feel in competition with you. Which is not to excuse it.

          If you feel you’re underpaid for the work you’re performing, get some facts together. Put together a job description of the job you do, not the one you were hired to do, compare with online job descriptions. Do some market research. FInd out how much you should be making for the work you’re doing and your experience level in your area. If they can’t come close to it, you need to decide if working there is worth the pay cut.

          Where I work consistently pays at least 10% less than the market in general for where I live, however the environment is good enough that even as a single, self-supporting mother the “pay cut” is worth staying for. Having made that decision, I know I have no right to complain that I could be getting paid more. I could also be working longer hours for jerks who don’t recognize what I do as valuable.

          Definitely take to heart the comments above about having (or projecting) self-confidence. That will serve you well in life, not just work.

          And if you have to play politics, you have to play politics. They are in every work environment, sadly enough. Personally, I hate them. But my boss shields me from most of it, because he knows it’s the thing most likely to get me fired up at work… or perhaps that’s just fired… ^_^;;

          If the politics mean that you have to tell these guys asking you to do the work to go through your boss (nicely!), then that’s what you need to do. From your description it sounds like they’re circumventing him to actually get work done, but the problem won’t go away unless you let it be painful for other people too. And, if you can frame it calmly and with supporting points, it might not hurt (depending on the personalities and politics) to talk to his boss about feeling undermined. I assume any suggestions for redesign that you make are made through email? Keep those. If you write a word doc, or spreadsheet or something to present your ideas, use the header/footer functions with your name and date on it. Password protect it. Keep a copy. If it shows up later with someone else taking credit, it shows that there was WILLFUL stealing of your ideas/plans. It’s not petty, it’s making sure people know your value.

          And if none of it works, and you hate it there; don’t settle. We spend too much time at work to be miserable there. Work these independant contracting contacts you have. Get referrals. Get written recommendations. Market yourself.

          We are only as miserable as we allow ourselves to be.

        • #2589749

          your first mistake

          by jdclyde ·

          In reply to I am just like the kid with an attitude…HELP

          was to think you could come in and “Improve IT”.

          No one that has been doing ANY job for a long time is going to listen to some new punk walking in off the streets that is going to change the world. In this case, you were seen as the young punk.

          YOU made yourself a threat to everyone there.

          You EARN respect by giving respect and showing you are competent without having to step on others to do it.

          The best tech in the world that isn’t a team player is a liability to the team.
          [b]
          A little secret I had to learn the hard way. Sometimes you have to allow others to be wrong.[/b]

          Without making it an attack or criticism of someone else’s ideas, state your idea for a solution, and why. Then STEP BACK.

          If you were right, time will show it. After a few times of that, they will start to take what you have to say seriously.

          And don’t forget, there is often more than one “right” answer.

          If your an arrogant jerk, you will not not succeed in this, or the next job.

          On the other hand, I would not train someone FOR FREE to do something, if they are making a good bit more than I am. Step back, cool out, and become a team player, and then politely talk to your boss about what it is that you can do to get to that same pay level. Odds are, you already blew it and will have to just watch yourself at the next job.

        • #2599654

          Choose your attitude

          by pheck ·

          In reply to I am just like the kid with an attitude…HELP

          Don’t let the circumstance you’re in dictate how your feel.
          Take responsibility for your choices.
          You choose to go or stay, you choose to deal with your boss or let them get on with their way of doing stuff.
          Don’t blame someone else.
          It’s not what happens to you but how you respond that will define your present and future.
          If you don’t like the circumstance make a choice and change something; your attitude, your working conditions, your job.
          Go do it.

        • #2626289

          I was that guy

          by jnewsom ·

          In reply to I am just like the kid with an attitude…HELP

          I?m that guy you work for, in a way, (but not really, since I know what I?m doing) When you are in a management job, you won?t get to do a lot of tech work anymore, and I have fallen behind on detailed knowledge these days. You, being younger and closer to the technology, are going to know more about certain things than he does. It?s supposed to be that way.

          I only get to do actual development about 30% of the time these days. The rest of it is spent dealing with other people trying to figure out where they want to take this company and how IT can get them there with no people and no money to work with. Other people have their job to do and it is not the same as yours. If they don?t know what you know, that does not equal them being stupid.

          The guy I work for knows a hell of a lot more about property taxes than I ever even want to know. I had my own company and I didn?t like it because a lot of the work had nothing to do with what I enjoy. Drumming up business, handling the guy who doesn?t want to pay your bill after you just spent 2 weeks making his network all perfect and a thousand things I never want to mess with again.

          As to the other, get respect by giving respect. Listen to your boss?s suggestions even when you know he?s probably wrong. He?s probably trying to help. Better yet, go back and discuss it briefly when you have solved something and tell him what worked. I know I would appreciate that, if I were him. How others see you is extremely important, maybe even more important than actual technical skill. If you get a reputation for being hard to work with, you?re toast.

          Don?t forget, as unhappy as you may be, this is actually great experience. Those tasks you mentioned you were working on represent a lot of responsibility and would normally be done by a more senior person. If they didn?t respect your ability, you would not be assigned such important work. When you change jobs, you?ll get to say you did all those things on your resume.

          Remember that this business traditionally has people with bad social skills. Learn to pat yourself on the back, because others will not do it for you very often. I praise my team when they earn it, but lots of people do not. You only hear about it when something goes wrong, so develop your own pride of purpose in your work.

    • #2595973

      Try this…

      by hecatesmaid ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Hi! I find the way to deal with this is to bring your other co-workers to your side. YES – you need to do this as a manager. You need to stop completing his tasks and you need to keep the others from doing so also. This sounds petty – but trust me that if you do not – this gent may end up with your position. He is making you his “victim” and this is not the image you want to project to your co-workers or higher ups. Fm your post I can sense the annoyance but also the “victim” (I have proof…). YOU are in control – freeze him out. If you feel the need to complete HIS tasks – assign them to his fellow co-workers and allow them to complain enough to you for YOU to step in as a manager and point out to higher ups his deceptions. The ball really is in your court.
      I hope this helps a bit.

    • #2595968

      Who’s zooming who

      by helpdeskdude ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Who is the boss here, you or someone else? Sounds like dual supervision to me. If your his boss, talk to the person who is giving him other tasks and tell them you need to be the one giving directions not them. Because I can see where this would start to undermine everything you and your team are try to do. Too many chief and not enough indians, if you ask me.

    • #2595962

      I’ve got more to say!

      by techexec2 ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      .
      Another thing I noticed from your post is that you appear to be “Pete Rose” (a playing manager in American baseball in case you might not know). You’re the manager, but you also take on a bunch of the detail tasks yourself. Small team. As they say, “Familiarity breeds contempt”. It’s absolutely true.

      I think you need to devote a little more time to manager-type tasks. Not overkill. You have a very small team and you’re “Pete Rose”. But, some more.

      You should have chart of every task being done by every team member (including yourself since you do them also). In particular, your cocky little troublemaker should be told, in writing (don’t hesitate…he’s at war with you), that he is required to inform you of any assignment given to him (or taken by him) by your boss (or anyone else) BEFORE he begins working on it. Each task goes on the chart. He doesn’t have to lose one moment of time (say so, explicitly, in the memo directing him) but you are NEVER to be left out of the loop. Every time he fails to adhere to this requirement, he gets a written memo noting his failure to do his job as he has been instructed.

      The point is, you really need to establish a little more formality. Some more stuff in writing. Some more professional formal conduct on his part. You don’t have to, and cannot afford to, weigh down your small team with it. But, I think you must do it. There is probably a lot of other little formalities and little professionalisms you should implement. But, I cannot say what they are without knowing a lot more about your situation.

      Reassert authority and control over your team! Good luck!

      • #2595947

        Hmmm…

        by ontheropes ·

        In reply to I’ve got more to say!

        I favor a choke hold with the left arm whilst pummeling the twit repeatedly with the right fist but I s u p p o s e your ideas would work too. Not as satisfying though.

        • #2595844

          OK! One of us can hold him…

          by techexec2 ·

          In reply to Hmmm…

          To hell with this professional management crap!

          One of us can hold him while the other one smacks him a good one!

          Don Corleone was right. Things get done with a lot less trouble when you send Luca Brazzi.

        • #2589799

          Of course we won’t hurt him hurt him (Edited with new content)

          by ontheropes ·

          In reply to OK! One of us can hold him…

          We’d just, non-violently and dispassionately show him exactly how it would feel if we were to hurt him hurt him and then we’d toss him a few ice-packs and revert back to the professional management crap you described.

          We could sell tickets and wagers on the side to cover any immediate expenses for coagulants etc. I’m non-violent. REMEMBER that when we have to talk to the police about his self-inflicted injuries and attempt to frame us. Thank you Mr. Pacifist.

          Who would the cops believe. Two of the most gentle people that the office people say they have ever seen or a twit who was screwing over the offices people. We’d have to look for the episode on Unsolved Mysteries or sumthin’.

          I’ve always “heard” that phonebooks placed in significant areas prevent bruising while conveying an unmistakeable message to child molesters, cop killers and err… office twits. As far as you know I have NO experience in that area and you can’t prove anything without a bruise or so I’ve heard.

          Edit: I kept getting DNS lookup errors everywhere else in this discussion BUT here so I’ll post here and hope it is read.

          Seriously TechExec, you and others have good ways to deal with the twit and of course you know I was half-kidding when I said I’d throttle the dood back a bit. My point is that there comes a time when office “politics” can sink the boat and somebody like the dood in question need to be informed in no uncertain terms that people know what he’s doing and his ass is on the line. Politics and correctness be damned. He can shape up or ship out. I haven’t ever loved any job so much that I’ll allow my personal integrity to become demolished or watch others take credit for things they weren’t due credit. I speak up and have spoken up when my voice is the last anyone wants to hear because when I talk people know it’s going to be the truth as I know it to be, no ifs, ands, buts or maybes.

          Maybe that’s why I’m still out of work. ?!? :^0 :0 :^0

          Why make dealing with a twit any tougher than it has to be. Use the truth on him. If you want to hurt someone you lie. If you really want to mess them up you tell them the truth about themselves. Truth works. It’s simple and simple is often best.

    • #2595955

      Competition versus lack of confidence…

      by marcouillerw ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Greetings Guitarist,

      First, let me introduce myself. I’m a young system consultant entrepreneur, plus I occupy a job of teacher in a private college well know in my region.

      One of my students told me, at my first class this year, and was trying to say that my teaching was not enough “take-me-by-the-hand”, if you see what I mean. In his point of view, I had to precisely tell him what was the objective of a programming laboratory before he begins, so that he might decide if whether he needed to perform it or not. All this to say that he was trying to be interesting arguing with me. Meanwhile, the other students had completed the laboratory. Then, when this student decided to do the labs, he met some difficulties with the first one. Now, he listens a little more to what I say, not being dictatorial neither.

      Second example, with an employee of mine within my business. The man is 27, and claims to have more than 10 years of experience into professional system programming. After a period of trial, I met some difficulties with him. According to him, he was worthy more than what I paid him. But he had yet made no proofs of his value. Furthermore, he refused to take the responsibilities I wanted to give him in order to make me see whether he was that worthy. He was always arguing and arguing, even being rough with me in his speaking. He too discussed about the fact that I didn’t take his ideas, when I had in fact accepted to go his way on more than 45% of the project. But because I didn’t take 100%, I was not trusting him, and I needed to go back to school, see?…

      All this to try to tell you that you cannot satisfy everyone and everything. I agree with your point when you say that you discuss much things with the team, that’s the way to come out successful in your projects. As for this guy of your team, he might be very competitive, but when competition comes accross relationship and team work, we might also consider a lack of confidence within himself. He tries to proove he’s the best, when in fact he might not be. You’re the team supervisor, let him know your rules diplomatically, and if he doesn’t listen, meet in team all three together. And if this does not work, you’ll have no choice to report him to your superior. But when doing, be prepared. Write down his kind of replicas when you try to have a discussion with him. Remember his attitude and make your other team partner notice it. Try to fortify the team between you and the other who is “correct”. Then, when your file is done and you feel ready, meet with your boss discretely and explain him the situation. Don’t be afraid to look like a bad manager because you can’t settle everything down, nobody can do everything. Furthermore, you do not seem to be the “big boss” of the place, so it is normal that you some times need to get a hand from ups. And explain to your boss that you would appreciate that when he has work to do, he has to go through you in order to better structure the team. Because when your boss goes over you, this gives the sensation to your ostile team partner to be more important than you.

      In conclusion, most of our fears are just not realistics. Anticipation is your worse enemy. And according to my experience and knowledge, you might be a better supervisor than you might yourself think. As for my student, he finally complies with what I require. As for my employee, I fired him because he lacked of diplomacy and didn’t want to understand my point, he was stuburned. Some times, we have no choice but to get through the roughest.

      I do hope this helps somehow. I wish you good success!

    • #2595896

      You are the good guy remember to stay nice BUT

      by technical ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      I think I recognize the type you are nice until you get pushed too far. Stay very nice its much more effective…
      Don’t worry to much about your boss sort it out yourself you can do this ! it will empower you for ever.
      Never raise your voice. Keep very calm when something happens that you cant sort out in the heat of the moment, retire saying I will have to think about that. If you want to dominate say “I may have to see you later about this”. Now talk to your staff tell them about the problem. Ask them to help you with it as a matter of loyalty to you because you have always taken their input as important.
      That you intend that they should benefit from all this because you will show the world the work they do and it will be totally transparent.
      I like the idea of giving the difficult one work to do with deadlines. I think you do want to fill this persons time up 101%. 101% is OK its normal practice. State priorities that will ( not “must” use the word “will”, will is legal must is not.)
      This dictates the order of work to be done. Its a form of micro management it can be very nasty but if you are only doing it to get your work done before any work that he may have from above then this is more than OK.
      He will be told that he “will” tell you if there is anything preventing him from undertaking your list of priorities and he will tell you if anything interfears with it.
      You “will” them be told about requests from above and you “will” dictate the priorities.
      I would of course take one of the things that your boss gave the trouble maker to do get it done by one of your other staff and get them to take it to your boss from you saying that you told him to do it as a matter of priority .
      You dictate who does what when. anything the boss gives to one of your staff…get it done faster than anything else on your list. Drop everything and do that first. If you want to use the trouble maker to get it done, do it.
      One rule …You rule.. work is not a democracy its a dictatorship. Team working is OK its a management tool to get things done but its not a matter of equal voting you always have one more vote than all your staff.
      Ps I have removed over 1/2 a million off the pay role when they tried this sort of thing with me I learn’t a lot. Always be nice an always do it your way.
      Say things like “I dont want to do that”
      “I would like you to do this”
      they can say “but” and you say “well that may be the case but I want you to do this”.
      Its very difficult to argue against this all you have to do is say you don’t want him to do whatever you want him to do what you tell him to do. If he says no. Explain its not a case of yes and no he “will” not do X he will do Y. just wait a bit after that its very rare that you have to wait long.
      Silence is brilliant try it ….Dont talk Tell and wait dont explain if there is a silence just wait after I while you can just say well thats Ok them and go.
      I hope it helps even if it doesn’t think of it as moral support

    • #2595895

      Happiness or Duty?

      by paul.richardson1 ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Sometimes, it is our own self-importance from which our sense of ?duty? arises. As an example, imagine the night watch security guard, who perhaps is overzealous. His supervisors smirk, but tolerate him, because he is so very conscientious and reliable. Let?s call him Sparky. I would bet that Sparky believes himself to be a man of great honor and integrity, always seeking wisdom and other noble pursuits. The problem is that Sparky is prone to his emotions at times, and can get swept up by the trash that blows by at times (now think of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, 1976). He imagines conspiracies and gets carried away in his own mind, with how to deal with them, and how he (being a person who ?cares?) would like to make his own dent in the wall.

      There are two paths for you at this point. Pursue your own happiness, or pursue your duty. If you really want to pursue your own happiness, then it might be a good thing for a fanatical jerk to gain the advantage and become team leader — like letting someone go full throttle without restraint, and thus hang their self. You could do that by going to your boss with an ultimatum disguised as concern for the company. Either the jerk needs to be told by YOUR BOSS that he will shut up and do what you ask and will no longer come to the top bosses for more brownie point jobs, or you feel that you need to step down, since your silly appointment as head McDonalds cashier is nothing more than a scam by the top bosses to create competition among the slave labour and a religion espousing company values. You could also simply leave the company for one which had good top managers, who do not do stupid evil things such as this, who engender an atmosphere of warmth, good humor, and sincere good character in members.

      Your second path, that of pursuing your duty within the confines of your current environment, would entail stepping out of your little bubble, and getting honest about human nature. There are endless throngs and hordes of talk-machines walking around with a passion and hunger for conflict. By slight of mind and emotional IQ, you have constant opportunities surprising these beasts with magic which releases their tension and puts them at ease. Tailoring a daily joke or humorous insight gained from the media to THEIR personality (not yours) is a tremendous help. Often, sadly, those who thirst after a little power and control, are those who may not be best suited to such authority. Leading doesn?t always mean disciplining. The top boss probably doesn?t really care if Clinton puffed or had ?relations? with the girl. He may only care about effectiveness at one?s core responsibilities (which as alluded to earlier, have nothing to do with management, and everything to do with productivity and pain-free results).

      Your duty, and this is especially true with such a small group, might be best understood as team leader (not manager), in the sense that people often naturally want to chum it up with the fastest swimmer on the team, or the homerun hitter on the team, unless of course they have an unpleasant manner, and can?t seem to get along well with others. Being official is pointless, as this often happens naturally. People will want to learn the secrets, and hear the stories of experience and advise about failures, from those who have gone before. You can help those who may lack your skills or knowledge. That is your duty, if you are a real leader.

      Now, if you want to be a manager, and not just a leader, then you might want to ask yourself why? Trust me when I say that it can be a real chore, and if you enjoy the work in your field, distancing yourself from that work, and suddenly spending all your time dealing with administrative and human resource issues can become very stressful and boring. It can spoil a positive outlook, not only in general, but especially in regards to your view of people in general. So very few come with good reports, and so many come to you with one complaint after the next. Put yourself in the shoes of your big boss. After some years, he may not really care about the politics and image management. If he?s stupid (a good possibility, if they got there through seniority, connections, or even treachery over skills), then they may be clueless about who is a wolf in sheep?s clothing. Made to confess, they will grudgingly take the side of ?what?s right?, but will not take action against any wolfs in the flock, particularly if the wolf is perceived as keeping those freag?in sheep in line, and brings more bacon to the table, never comes to their office with ill report or problems, and even makes them laugh occasionally.

    • #2595867

      Competitive employee

      by john ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      As team leader you should request that higher up route all work requests thru you. This is called “chain of command”

      You could ask other team members not to be sucked in by this guy.

      Get up in the morning and pratice saying NO in the mirror. Remember there are lots of diffrent ways to say NO.

      Lead of follow, your choice.

      You could set him up for a fall, have the solution in hand and look like the saviour in a time of need. With that kind of attention in the forefront you could state that this is not the first time you had to bail him out for one track thinking. Request that he be terminated in writing and have other team members back you up.

      Sounds like you need to do something soon…

    • #2589842

      Solution

      by mjunderwood ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Sit him down and TELL him that he works for you. Document the 3 cases of him taking/getting credit for work he did not complete. Tell him that his nit picking every little point is counter productive.
      Tell upper management that all his ‘projects’ have to be approved and assigned by you, let them follow the chain of command. monitor the situation and document everything.

      If he doesn’t want to be a team player then replace him with someone who would be a better fit for the team.

      Its business, not kindergarden !

      • #2589831

        I know this guy

        by michael.brooks2 ·

        In reply to Solution

        There is always one of these guys, all too often.
        I work with one now…I wish I was the boss though…I know what I would do. There is only one solution for this type…..GET RID OF HIM!

    • #2589832

      Keep a Journal and…

      by johnny bee ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Talk to your boss. Why is he assigning work to someone you are responsible for. Professionalism from his end demands that he clear tasks to your department with you not go behind your back. I would find out why you are being side-stepped in this manner. If you are the one responsible for the department then it is not up to you to deal with him beyond guiding him to fit in better. If he is not willing to meet you half way then it may be time to let him find other opportunities. You cannot be the nice guy when you are the one holding the bag.

      Also, every time he comes to you for a solution, document it. When it comes time for appraisals (assuming you get them at your company) present your boss with a copy of this journal so that he can prepare your assessment correctly. Suggest that the “third member of the away-team” keep one as well.

    • #2589822

      Warning

      by doug h. ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      If you didn’t have proof of your claim, I would suggest gathering such proof; however, since you say you have “proof of this happenning on 3 separate occasions,” I would bring enough documentation (not all) to objectively substantiate that this person is acting unprofessionally and assert that he needs to change this behavior as it is unacceptable to claim credit for others’ work.

      Personally, I would issue this person a written warning. Clearly and objectively make your point in writing; then sit down with this person and review the written warning and have them sign it. Provide an space for him to add any comments he may have on the issue. I would then put this into his personnel file. You then have what you need to take the next step (notifying the higher ups/HR) IF the behavior doesn’t change. In providing the written warning and a place for his response, you will let him know that this is noticed and documented in his file. If it continues, appropriate steps may be taken to remedy the situation. I wouldn’t notify the higher ups/HR if he changes his attitude/behavior… after all, that is what you really are after.

    • #2586967

      Competitive employee feedback

      by guitarist_7 ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Thanks so much for all of your help folks – all of the replys have been really interesting! I really appreciate the help. Now I just need to decide where to go from here. It’s nice to know I’m not alone out there at least! There are some difficult things to face up to – namely confronting the boss, it’s all stuff that I’ve mentioned to him before i.e. that I need to be prioritising the tasks that come in, but must admit I haven’t spoken to him specifically about delegating directly to the IT admin that reports to me.

      Careful wording required there I think – I almost wish it were something I could do over E-mail as I’m not sure I trust my mouth to do it 🙂 – but best done face to face I think.

      • #2586902

        definitely ftf

        by dsrobinson ·

        In reply to Competitive employee feedback

        Anything that’s tricky to say is best done face to face. You can read body language or inflection in email. Nor can you easily clarify a point. The company I work for over-uses email, and I’ve seen many a miscommunication happen due to it. Good luck!

      • #2586887

        Keep your talk neutral

        by jdclyde ·

        In reply to Competitive employee feedback

        As soon as you sound like your attacking your boss or the tech, they will get defensive and you will get no where.

        Keep it about yourself. This is classic conflict resolution. “When you do this, it makes ME feel…..”

        Rehearse what you want to say OUT LOUD, either to a mirror, or to someone else. Set up a meeting when your boss will have time to talk to you in private.

        Have your documentation ready to go before that, with specific examples of where the difficult worker took credit for another members work , but make sure it isn’t a time that he took credit for your work or it will sound like sour grapes.

        I liked the idea about offering to give that worker over to the other group full time if they will not see reason, and want to continue to by-pass you as the manager.

        good luck.

        • #2590211

          Guys, avoid the word feel….

          by f4a6pilot ·

          In reply to Keep your talk neutral

          Use think instead. Try to think what the options are not feel your way through…

          Feel seems incompetent. Think is firmer…

          I think therefore I am.

          I feel so I voted for Kerry… See!

        • #2590064

          one could feel strongly…

          by dsrobinson ·

          In reply to Guys, avoid the word feel….

          and have voted for Dean.

          ^_^

        • #2589970

          Maybe, but only if

          by jdclyde ·

          In reply to one could feel strongly…

          you’re “feeling” dumb…… 😀

        • #2589959

          Oh no! not another Deanie baby!

          by locrian_lyric ·

          In reply to one could feel strongly…

          eom

        • #2589901

          Actually, no…

          by dsrobinson ·

          In reply to Oh no! not another Deanie baby!

          I was making the same point jdclyde made. Apparently, I was too subtle. ^_^

          Hence my previous comments about body language and email.

      • #2626338

        You need to tell a story

        by valkyrie needs food ·

        In reply to Competitive employee feedback

        You mentioned wording in this post and I think that is a key point that hasn’t been addressed.

        Obviously, this employee doesn’t have a problem verbalizing his “concerns”. You need to make sure that you verbalize as well. Take some time to think about the story that you want to present to your boss, HR, your peers, etc. By “story” I don’t mean that you should make something up but that you should make an active decision about what aspect of this conflict you want to present to others. If you take the time to actively think about it, you can make sure that what you say to others comes across as rational, not emotional, and based on concern that “the job” isn’t being done.

        You’ve got a fine line to walk. You need to take action without being seen as vindictive and singling this person out (of course, you are singling them out but you need to take care this isn’t seen as being unfair), you need to raise this problem with your boss without coming across as a whiner who can’t manage, you need to let HR know about the problem without being viewed as a risk yourself.

        This is where thinking about the story is important. It allows you decide upon a consistent front that can be presented to all players, it allows you to take your emotions out of the picture (if people feel you’re emotionally involved in a problem, you’re viewed as incompetent), and it also helps you deal with unexpected situations (you already have the story so you know what to do).

        Now for general advice:

        1. If you implement any work changes, you need to do it for everyone, not just the trouble employee. If you post a task list with % completion, start posting stats, having coaching sessions, etc., everyone should be included. You don’t want this employee to say he’s being singled out for anything.

        2. You need to get in front of HR ASAP! You can guarantee that if this employee is unhappy, he’ll go to HR and tell a sad, sad story. Take that ammunition away by getting in first. Again, you need to know what story to tell but make sure that your version is there first. You can simply go to your HR rep and ask for some advice. You don’t even have to name names the first time you visit. Make your HR rep feel important. They might even give you good advice.

        3. You need to have a discussion with your boss about the delegation of work and authority. You don’t have to be specific but you should say that you’ve noticed that tasks in your group are not being completed. You “think” it has to do with other tasks being assigned outside the regular workflow. You understand that there are important things that need to be done and you need to be able to reassign your team to address these issues. You feel that more work can be done if all the tasks come through you and you can prioritize the work. Sometimes the team members aren’t good at prioritizing and it causes things to go uncompleted, deadlines are missed, etc., etc. You get the idea.

        Good luck!!

    • #2587574

      Latest development

      by guitarist_7 ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Well, I’ve just spoken to my boss about this – he’s advised to me to have a one to one with the guy and let him know “you’re not happy with the nature of your relationship” with either my boss or HR present if I feel it necessary. He thinks I should take the weekend to consider the next step. He has said he’s going to be keeping an eye out for signs of this behaviour in future, although as he says he’s not often present in situations with the two of us. He also clarified that my position is head of that dept. and the perception from himself and the board is that the guy does a good job but as my assistant not as the person running the dept. and he has no intention of any other staffing arrangements (I didn’t ask – but it’s nice to know all the same!). No mention of whether he’s going to be assigning any other tasks directly to him, but I’m hopeful. He was most displeased with the guy taking credit where it wasn’t due. All in all I think a discussion that was uncomfortable but well worth it!

      Thanks again for all of your great advice people!

      • #2626308

        Hope it all works out!

        by genera-nation ·

        In reply to Latest development

        But for some reason I have the feeling that this guy is being lined up to fill shoes. Just a thought.

    • #2599657

      Appropriate protocols sortthe wheat from the chaff

      by pheck ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Solutions need to be based aroud a range of criteria, set by business practices from within an organsiation (the culture of how things are done) and the operating/business environment.
      Organsiations/businesses develop systems and protocols to manage work flows.
      Ask that your team member email all requests so that it may be prioritised against all the work that the team is doing.
      If/when a request is sent through for work to be done that is inappropriate load shifting you can track and action, to ensure that it is dealt with firmly and fairly.
      You need to be firm but fair as you are the team leader. Take control of the cirmcumstance or get out of the way.

    • #2602648

      be open but firm

      by wrlang ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      Someone has probably already said this, but you have a multitude of problems.

      First, ask yourself if you really want to be a manager.
      If yes –

      There?s no easy way to get back on track.

      Your IT is out of control.
      All projects must go through you.
      Find out why this person is getting projects that you aren?t aware of.
      You can?t manage what you can?t control.

      Let this person know that this is not a democracy. Some people view people who ask for advice as weak and uncertain. Arguing with you after the decision has been made is insubordination.

      The team should know what projects have come down through you and those are the only ones they are authorized to work on. Knowingly spending company time on tasks for anything else is an actionable offense.

      Be open but firm.

    • #2619232

      LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE

      by nicoe ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      This guy is very competitive and I’m also aware he has been given tasks to do from higher ups (my boss) in the company which he takes on and has then had another member of the team

    • #2619231

      LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE

      by nicoe ·

      In reply to Competitive employee – would value any advice!

      I HAD A SIMMILAR SITUATION . THE MAIN PROBLEM IS YOUR BOSS GIVING THE PROBLEM GUY TASKS DIRECTLY. HE IS THE FIRST PROBLEM. ALL TASKS SHOULD COME FROM YOU. HE IS UNDERMINING YOU IN THE WORKPLACE !!!

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